Friends ‘fight off’ shark after it attacks man in Tobago
Global News
The victim, 64-year-old Peter Smith, was attacked and seriously injured by what officials believe was a bull shark.
A British man vacationing in the Caribbean is in stable condition after he was attacked by a shark in Tobago on Friday morning.
The man, identified by the BBC as 64-year-old Peter Smith, was seriously injured in Turtle Beach waters near the Starfish hotel in Courland Bay, on the west side of the island.
When he was attacked by what local officials believe was a bull shark, Smith’s wife said two of their friends stayed in the water to “battle the shark” in an attempt to save Peter.
Jo Smith said her husband suffered “damage to his left arm and leg, puncture wounds to the abdomen and injuries to his right hand.”
He was brought to the island’s Scarborough General Hospital for treatment. According to Jo, Peter is “aware of what is happening and is able to communicate a little, although he is still under strong medication.”
Officials in Tobago also revealed Peter had some fingers severed during the attack, though they were reattached at the hospital.
The Tobago House of Assembly estimated the bull shark was 10 feet long (about three metres) and two feet wide (less than one metre).
The government closed seven beaches and a marine park in the area after the attack as a precautionary measure. Starfish’s water sports manager Orion Jakerov told local news outlet TTT Live no one saw the shark approach Peter in the “waist-deep” water.
